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2025 in paleoichthyology
Overview of the events of 2025 in paleoichthyology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Several new fossil taxa of jawless vertebrates, placoderms, cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, and other fishes were described during the year 2025, which also saw other significant discoveries and events related to paleoichthyology.
Jawless vertebrates
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Jawless vertebrate research
- Märss (2025) revises jawless vertebrates from the Silurian (Wenlock) to Devonian (Lochkovian) strata of the Ufa Amphitheatre (Russia), and names a new family Tahulaspididae within Osteostraci.[2]
- Sanchez-Sanchez, Sanisidro & Ferrón (2025) study the hydrodynamic performance of headshield processes of members of Pteraspidomorphi, reporting evidence of repeated, independent evolution of frontal, dorsal and lateral processes in response to functional demands.[3]
- Schnetz et al. (2025) reconstruct the whole-body morphology of Anglaspis heintzi, and interpret its oral apparatus as indicative of adaptation to suspension feeding.[4]
- Miyashita et al. (2025) provide new information on the anatomy of the head–trunk interface in Norselaspis glacialis, reporting evidence of presence of features previously known only in jawed vertebrates, and interpret their findings and indicative of evolution of sensory elaborations and increase of cardiac output and locomotory control in vertebrates before the appearance of the vertebrate jaw.[5]
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Placoderms
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Placoderm research
- Babcock (2025) designates the neotype for Macropetalichthys rapheidolabis and the lectotype for Agassichthys manni, redescribes the lectotype of Agassichthys sullivanti, and interprets A. manni, A. sullivanti and Pterichthys norwoodensis as junior synonyms of M. rapheidolabis.[10]
- Pears et al. (2025) reconstruct the appendicular skeleton and musculature of arthrodires from the Devonian Gogo Formation (Australia), providing evidence of anatomical similarity of fins and musculature of the studied specimens.[11]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Exutaspis megista is published by Xue et al. (2025).[12]
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Cartilaginous fishes
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Cartilaginous fish research
- A diverse assemblage of cartilaginous fish fossils, including the youngest record of Phoebodus latus reported to date, is described from the Upper Devovian strata from the South Urals (Russia) by Ivanov et al. (2025).[31]
- Li et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new fish assemblage dominated by cartilaginous fishes from the Permian (Changhsingian) Dalong Formation (Sichuan, China), including a probable neoselachian which might represent the earliest record of a cartilaginous fish with holaulacorhize-like root vascularization.[32]
- Zhao et al. (2025) interpret Laffonia helvetica as a holocephalan egg capsule morphologically intermediate between Carboniferous Crookallia and Vetacapsula and extant chimaerid capsules.[33]
- A well-preserved specimen of Chimaeropsis paradoxa, displaying soft parts, is described from the Tithonian strata in the Solnhofen area (Germany) by Duffin, Lauer & Lauer (2025).[34]
- Duffin & Ward (2025) describe a quasi-complete but poorly preserved specimen of Elasmodectes cf. willetti from the Cenomanian strata in Morocco, and identify the first fossil of a member of the genus Elasmodectes (a tooth plate) from the Albian Gault Clay of Folkestone (Kent, United Kingdom.[35]
- Popov & Rogov (2025) describe chimaeroid fossil material from the Coniacian strata from the Krasnoyarsk Krai (Russia), providing evidence of presence of Edaphodon sp. and Harriotta sp. in the polar latitudes of eastern Siberia during the Late Cretaceous.[36]
- A study on the histology and growth of dental plates of Ischyodus dolloi is published by Cerda, Gouiric Cavalli & Reguero (2025).[37]
- Gayford & Jambura (2025) review evidence of different drivers of diversification of elasmobranchs throughout their evolutionary history.[38]
- The first dermal denticles of Listracanthus hystrix from Ireland are described from the Carboniferous Clare Shale Formation (County Clare, Republic of Ireland) by Doyle (2025).[39]
- Greif et al. (2025) reconstruct feeding habits of Ctenacanthus concinnus, interpreting it as likely opportunistic feeder that used an array of feeding mechanisms.[40]
- Eltink et al. (2025) report the first discovery of fossil material of Priohybodus arambourgi from the Upper Jurassic Aliança Formation (Brazil), and study tooth morphology of members of the species and its variation.[41]
- Valentin et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of hybodont sharks from the Campanian strata in France, including the first record of Parvodus from the Late Cretaceous.[42]
- Staggl et al. (2025) study diversity dynamics of neoselachians throughout the Mesozoic, providing evidence that higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations had negative effect on neoselachian diversity.[43]
- Evidence from the study of oxygen isotope composition of teeth of Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Cretalamna appendiculata, Scapanorhynchus texanus, Squalicorax kaupi, Squalicorax pristodontus and Ptychodus mortoni from the Upper Cretaceous strata from the Gulf Coastal Plain, interpreted as likely indicative of increased body temperature of P. mortoni and indicative of active heating and migration from warmer waters by C. mantelli, is presented by Comans, Tobin & Totten (2025)[44]
- Amadori et al. (2025) reconstruct the lower crushing plate of Ptychodus decurrens on the basis of new fossil material from the Upper Cretaceous strata in Croatia.[45]
- Shimada et al. (2025) argue that Otodus megalodon likely had slenderer body than the great white shark, and estimate that it might have reached about 24.3 m in body length.[46]
- McCormack et al. (2025) study the trophic ecology of marine vertebrates from the Miocene (Burdigalian) Upper Marine Molasse sediments (Germany), and report evidence indicating that members of the genus Otodus did not feed exclusively on high trophic level prey, as well as evidence indicating that most of the studied specimens of Carcharodon hastalis fed on a lower trophic level prey than extant great white shark.[47]
- Godfrey et al. (2025) describe teeth of Carcharodon hastalis embedded in cetacean vertebrae from the Miocene Calvert Formation (Maryland, United States), confirming that the studied shark fed on marine mammals.[48]
- A study on the evolution of members of Squaliformes is published by Marion, Condamine & Guinot (2025), who find evidence of multiple colonizations of the deep sea that coincided with marine transgressions and were likely facilitated by the evolution of bioluminescence.[49]
- Greenfield (2025) reidentify the large rostrum and four fragmentary rostral denticles from the Dakhla Formation originally attributed to Onchopristis sp. by Capasso et al. (2024)[50] as Sclerorhynchoidei indet. and Sclerorhynchus cf. leptodon, respectively,[51] while Capasso et al. (2025) supported their original identification and stated that any taxonomic determination without direct examination is unacceptable.[52]
- Collareta & Mollen (2025) identify fossil material of Nebriimimus wardi from the Pliocene strata from Guardamar del Segura (Spain), representing the first record of this species outside Italy.[53]
- Assemat, Adnet & Martin (2025) study the trophic ecology of Maastrichtian elasmobranchs from Morocco, and report evidence of similarities of the studied assemblage with modern trophic food webs, as well as evidence of consumption of tetrapods by Squalicorax pristodontus.[54]
- Cañete-Cañete et al. (2025) revise the fossil record of cartilaginous fishes from Chile from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene, finding no evidence of a significant turnover during the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition, and finding evidence of increase of diversity during the Eocene.[55]
- Evidence from the study of isolated teeth of living and fossil lamniform sharks, indicative of utility of geometric morphometrics for identification of isolated fossil teeth, is presented by Pagliuzzi et al. (2025).[56]
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Ray-finned fishes
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Otolith taxa
Ray-finned fish research
- A study on the development of teeth of a stem ray-finned fish specimen from the Devonian Gneudna Formation (Australia), providing evidence of similarities with the organization of lungfish tooth plates, is published by Chen (2025).[89]
- Igielman et al. (2025) study the anatomy of lower jaws of Devonian ray-finned fishes, report evidence of overall similarity in similarity in gross shape and composition, but also report evidence of differences that might be related to a previously unrecognized functional diversity.[90]
- Redescription of Palaeoniscum delessei is published by Gonçalves & Luccisano (2025),[91] who synonymise this species to Aeduella blainvillei.
- Redescription and a study on the phylogenetic affinities of Pteronisculus gunnari is published by Cavicchini et al. (2025).[92]
- Cooper et al. (2025) study the skull roof anatomy of Gyrosteus mirabilis, and interpret both G. mirabilis and Strongylosteus hindenburgi as species distinct from Chondrosteus acipenseroides.[93]
- Capasso & Witzmann (2025) identify pycnodontomorph specimens with supernumerary rays of dorsal and anal fins, and interpret the studied anomalies as likely atavisms and as evidence supporting the interpretation of pycnodontomorph as basal neopterygians.[94]
- Pacheco-Ordaz, Reyes-López & Alvarado-Ortega (2025) identify a specimen of Paranursallia gutturosa from the Turonian strata from the San José de Gracia Quarry (Mexico), assign further nursalliine pycnodontid specimens from the Agua Nueva Formation to the same species, and discard report of the presence of Nursallia tethyensis in the Turonian strata of the Huehuetla Quarry.[95]
- Fossil material of cf. Coelodus sp., representing the first vertebrate material reported from the Santonian Jákó Marl Formation (Hungary), is described by Szabó, Haas & Cawley (2025).[96]
- Gardner, Brinkman & Murray (2025) identify the holotype of Arotus hieroglyphus as a scale of a holostean fish.[97]
- Ganoid scales probably representing the oldest fossil material of Lepisosteus reported from Southern Hemisphere are described from the Albian–Cenomanian Açu Formation (Brazil) by Costa et al. (2025).[98]
- Gar remains representing the first record of this group from the Late Cretaceous of Japan are described from the Turonian Mifune Group by Ikegami, Yabumoto & Brito (2025).[99]
- A study on the scale histology of Pachycormus is published by Maxwell & Cooper (2025).[100]
- Kanarkina, Zverkov & Popov (2025) identify fin fragments of members of the genus Bonnerichthys from the Campanian strata of the Rybushka Formation (Saratov Oblast, Russia), representing the first record of fossils of this genus outside the United States.[101]
- Ebert & Kölbl-Ebert (2025) report the discovery of specimens of Tharsis from the Upper Jurassic strata of the Plattenkalk basins of Eichstätt or Solnhofen Basin (Germany) found with belemnites lodged in their mouth and gill apparatus, and interpret the studied specimens as sucking remnants of belemnite soft tissue of algal or bacterial overgrowth and accidentally sucking belemnites into their mouth, resulting in suffocation.[102]
- Brinkman et al. (2025) compare the composition of teleost assemblages from the Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation and from the Paleocene Fort Union Formation (Montana, United States) and Ravenscrag Formation (Saskatchewan, Canada), and find that the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event mainly affected taxa that were already rare in the Maastrichtian, but also find evidence of reduced taxonomic richness of teleosts during the early Paleocene.[103]
- Serafini et al. (2025) identify a plethodid rostrum from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) strata from northern Italy, preservign evidence of presence of cranial and dental traits convergent with those of extant billfishes.[104]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Plesioschizothorax macrocephalus is published by Yang et al. (2025).[105]
- Přikryl et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Luciobarbus graellsii from the Pliocene strata from the Camp dels Ninots site (Spain), and interpret the studied fossils as indicating that the species was able to adapt to environmental changes from the warmest period of the Pliocene to the coldest period of the Pleistocene.[106]
- Murray, Brinkman & Krause (2025) identify fossil material of at least three acanthomorph (probably percomorph) taxa from the Maastrichtian strata in the Mahajanga Basin (Madagascar), interpreted as likely evidence of a single invasion of Madagascan fresh waters during the Cretaceous.[107]
- Schwarzhans & Bannikov (2025) report the first discovery of a specimen of Pinichthys shirvanensis from the Miocene strata of the North Shirvanskaya Formation (Krasnodar Krai, Russia) preserved with an otolith, and transfer the otolith-based taxon "Stromateus" steurbauti Schwarzhans (1994) to the genus Pinichthys.[108]
- Revision of Oligocene palaeorhynchids from Romania is published by Grădianu, Monsch & Baciu (2025).[109]
- Redescription of Zignoichthys oblongus, based on data from new fossil material from the Pesciara site of the Bolca locality (Italy), is published by Ridolfi et al. (2025).[110]
- Collareta et al. (2025) report the discovery of fused dentaries of an ocean sunfish from the Lower Pliocene strata of the Siena-Radicofani Basin (Italy), representing the first finding of fossil material of a member of this group in post-Miocene strata outside North America.[111]
- Přikryl et al. (2025) report the presence of fossil material of an indeterminate goby and members of the genera Herklotsichthys and Ophisternon in the Pleistocene Laguna Formation (Philippines).[112]
- Dalla Vecchia et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new assemblage of Late Cretaceous (possibly Campanian-Maastrichtian) fishes from the Friuli Carbonate Platform (Italy), dominated by pycnodontiforms and basal non-acanthomorph teleosts.[113]
- Dubikovska et al. (2025) study the composition of the Miocene fish assemblage from the Mykolaiv Beds (Ukraine), and report the first discovery of fossil material of Acanthurus haueri, Oligodiodon sp. and indeterminate diodontids and tetraodontiforms of uncertain familiar placement from the Forecarpathian Basin.[114]
- Evidence of changes of diversity of ray-finned fishes from the south of Eastern Europe (Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) from the late Miocene to the late Pleistocene is presented by Barkaszi & Kovalchuk (2025).[115]
- Brinkman et al (2025) document the paleoichthyofauna of the early Maastrichtian-aged Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, including the descriptions of new genera (Nunikuluk, Archaeosiilik, Sivulliusalmo), the first documentation of several previously-described taxa (Oldmanesox, Horseshoeichthys) within the formation, and the oldest known fossil record of Cypriniformes.[60]
- Melendez-Vazquez et al. (2025) link the evolution of endothermy in ray-finned fishes with evolution of large body size, adaptations to distinct swimming modes, and interactions with cetaceans during the Eocene-Miocene.[116]
- A study on changes of diversity of bony fishes in Chile from the Neogene to the present is published by Oyanadel-Urbina et al. (2025).[117]
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Lobe-finned fishes
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Lobe-finned fish research
- Babcock (2025) revises the type specimens of Onychodus sigmoides and O. hopkinsi, and interprets the latter taxon as a junior synonym of the former one.[120]
- Review of the completeness of the fossil record of coelacanths is published by Yuan, Cavin & Song (2025).[121]
- Cui et al. (2025) provide new information on the anatomy of Styloichthys changae, and study the evolution of cosmine in lobe-finned fishes.[122]
- Ferrante & Cavin (2025) study the phylogenetic relationships of extant and fossil members of Actinistia, and name a new family Axeliidae and new subfamilies Diplurinae and Mawsoniinae.[123]
- Fossil material of an indeterminate latimeriid, representing the first record of the family from the Lower Jurassic strata in Germany, is described from the Toarcian Posidonia Shale by Cooper (2025).[124]
- Evidence from the study of mechanical performance of lungfish mandibles from the Devonian Gogo Formation (Australia), indicating that mandible morphology and dentition type both had impact on stress and strain distribution during biting, is presented by Bland et al. (2025), who interpret their findings as consistent with niche specialization of the studied lungfishes.[125]
- Szrek et al. (2025) describe lungfish traces from the Devonian (Emsian) strata from the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Poland), including traces of the snout that anchored in the sediment to create leverage for lifting the body while the fish moved through shallow water or across exposed sediment, and name new ichnotaxa Reptanichnus acutori and Broomichnium ujazdensis.[126]
- A lungfish tooth plate with morphology similar to that of Carboniferous sagenodontids is described from the Devonian (Famennian) Lemgaïrinat Formation (Morocco) by El Fassi El Fehri et al. (2025).[127]
- Casal et al. (2025) describe a tooth plate of cf. Metaceratodus kaopen from the Upper Cretaceous Lago Colhué Huapí Formation (Argentina), expanding known geographic distribution of this taxon in South America, and interpret the studied specimen as living in environment with warm climate with dry periods.[128]
- Batt et al. (2025) report the discovery of new rhizodontid fossil material from the Tournaisian Ballagan Formation (Scotland, United Kingdom), representing one of the earliest and most complete Carboniferous rhizodontids reported to date.[129]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Eusthenodon wangsjoi is published by Downs (2025).[130]
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General research
- Haridy et al. (2025) identify purported early vertebrate Anatolepis as an arthropod, interpret its purported dentine tubules as sensory structures similar to those present in Cambrian aglaspidids and modern arthropods, and determine the oldest known fossil evidence of vertebrate dental tissues to be middle Ordovician in age.[131]
- Gonçalves et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new ichthyological assemblage from the Carboniferous (Gzhelian) Bourran Formation (Aveyron, France), comprising specimens of Orthacanthus sp., cf. Progyrolepis, Acanthodidae indet., Aeduella sp. and Decazella vetteri.[132]
- Andrews, Shirley & Figueroa (2025) report the discovery of a new, diverse fish assemblage from the Carboniferous (Mississippian) Marshall Sandstone (Michigan, United States).[133]
- Hodnett et al. (2025) study the composition of Permian fish assemblages from the Phosphoria, Park City and Shedhorn formations (Wyoming, United States), providing evidence of similarities with the assemblage from the Kaibab Formation in Arizona.[134]
- Swimming trails of fishes with diverse morphologies or swimming behaviors are described from the Permian Salagou Formation (France) by Moreau et al. (2025).[135]
- A study on the trophic relationships of fishes from the Romualdo Formation (Brazil), as indicated by mercury concentrations in their fossil remains, is published by Antonietto et al. (2025).[136]
- Pokorný et al. (2025) describe trace fossils produced during death struggle of fishes from the Upper Cretaceous marine sediments in Lebanon, and name new ichnotaxa Pinnichnus haqilensis and P. emmae.[137]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of fishes from Austria, indicative of increase of elasmobranch abundance and decrease of ray-finned fish density in the Tethys Ocean in the aftermath of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, is presented by Feichtinger et al. (2025).[138]
- Deville de Periere et al. (2025) report the discovery of a diverse assemblage of marine fishes from the Eocene Dammam Formation (Saudi Arabia) .[139]
- Sambou, Diaw & Adnet (2025) report the Discovery of a new marine fish assemblage from the Miocene–Pliocene deposits of the Saloum Formation (Senegal).[140]
- Pallacks et al. (2025) study the fossil record of fish otoliths from the central western Aegean Sea, and report evidence indicating that a period of low oxygenation of mid-depth waters between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago was associated with near absence of mesopelagic fish.[141]
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